Dan Tehan (Wannon, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, I present the committee's advisory report on the Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment Bill (No.1) 2014.

Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e).

by leave—I am pleased to present the committee's report into the Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 1) 2014. The bill contains a series of amendments to the Criminal Code and the Intelligence Services Act. The amendments are primarily aimed at: (1) facilitating Australian Secret Intelligence Service support for and cooperation with the Australian Defence Force, (2) amending the emergency ministerial authorisation arrangements for the Intelligence Services Act agencies, and (3) enabling the AFP to seek control orders for a broader range of individuals of security concern and to streamline application processes.

The committee has made 15 recommendations in its report aimed at further strengthening the bill's safeguards, transparency and oversight mechanisms. The recommendations include: with regard to ASIS support for the ADF, providing greater clarity around how a class of Australian persons will be defined; on emergency ministerial authorisations, requiring the relevant minister of an intelligence services agency to be notified within eight hours of any emergency authorisation where the relevant minister or ministers was not initially contactable; requiring the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security to oversee such authorisations and to notify the committee within 30 days of each instance; regarding changes to the control order regime, basing the terms 'supports' and 'facilitates' in relation to control orders on language in the existing Criminal Code to the extent possible; requiring the Attorney-General's consent for an urgent interim control order to be obtained by the AFP within eight hours of a request being made; and retaining an existing requirement for the AFP, in applications to make or vary a control order, to explain why each condition in the order should or should not be imposed on the person.

The committee has also recommended that the government finalise the appointment of the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor and that the INSLM be tasked with advising on possible additional safeguards for the control order regime to, importantly, take account of both the recent changes to control order legislation and the heightened security environment. The committee has also made a serious of other recommendations aimed at clarifying key terms and retaining existing safeguards in the processes underlying the control order regime.

The measures included in this bill were introduced into the parliament following urgent requests from agencies to fill legislative gaps and to assist in the current fight against terrorism, both in Australia and abroad. Following consideration of its recommendations, the committee has recommended that the bill be passed by the parliament.

I wish to thank the other members of the committee for their cooperative approach to the inquiry and for the ability for the committee to once again come forward to the parliament with a bipartisan list of recommendations. I would also thank the organisations and individuals who participated in the inquiry. I thank them once again, given what were short time frames, for participating in the committee's deliberations. I also thank the secretariat for the very professional and diligent way that they have supported the committee in its works.

I commend the report to the House.